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Amid the surge in oil prices because of the Iran war, Indonesia has announced the roll-out of the biofuel B50, a blend of 50% palm oil-based biodiesel and 50% conventional diesel. The fuel is being tested and should be in use by July. For India, which relies heavily on Indonesian palm oil imports, this could mean tighter supply and pricier cooking oil back home. Prerna Prabhakar, a Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, explains what Indonesia is doing and how it will impact India.

The producer price index, which tracks inflation at the wholesale level before it reaches the consumers, increased 1% year-on-year in March. When compared to February, the index climbed 4.1%, the biggest month-on-month rise in more than two decades, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia

Palm oil production in Indonesia is forecast to increase by 3% in 2026/27 to 48M tonnes, up from 46.7M tonnes the previous year, according to a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report.

The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid 62 ringgit, or 1.35%, to 4,535 ringgit ($1,148.10) a metric ton at the close. The contract rose 0.39% in the previous session.

Malaysian palm oil futures traded in a tight range on Monday, as weakness in Dalian soyoil countered stronger crude oil prices.

Yet again has our food imports bill risen. And yet again our food exports. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, compared to the same period last year, the former increased by 15 percent to USD 7.09 billion, while the latter plummeted by 34 percent to USD 3.8 billion. The food trade deficit by the end of this period stood at USD 3.29 billion.

Sarawak Plantation Bhd has fully rehabilitated some 6,000 ha of oil palm estates which were plagued with various inefficiencies.

US wheat futures eased on Friday after a drought-fuelled rally the previous day as traders assessed chances for rain relief in the parched US Plains wheat belt and prospects for de-escalation in the Middle East

India’s journey towards self-reliance is not a retreat from global engagement, but a reaffirmation of its commitment to shared prosperity and responsible economic integration. Anchored in the guiding principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the World is One Family), India’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat seeks to build a self-reliant and resilient economy that remains firmly connected to global value chains

The Plantation and Commodities Ministry (KPK) is exploring the phased development of carbon-related mechanisms through the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification, including assessing the suitability of carbon credit models aligned with the country’s palm oil industry.

In Ukraine, UkrAgroConsult reported that palm oil is among the sectors hardest hit by ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, primarily due to weakening demand from Iran, according to Datuk Seri Rizal Merican Naina Merican, Chairman of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade).

Crude palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to trend lower next week amid profit-taking, a trader said.